The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has referred the Ministry of Finance to the Attorney General for prosecution over procurement breaches.
This is due to a GH₵ 1.3 million cedi infraction flagged in the 2024 Auditor General’s report.
According to the report, the Finance Ministry awarded “three different contracts for hotel services totalling GH₵ 1,369,042.35, whose individual values were above threshold.”
The contracts were: “conference workshop for the preparation of the 2024 budget implementation instructions at GH₵ 145,075.31, residential and conference package for the annual Budget Divisional Staff retreat at GH₵ 956,170.23, and conference workshop for the preparation of the 2024 budget implementation instructions for all covered entities at GH₵ 293,796.81”.
The contracts, the AG’s report noted, are in contravention of section 18 of the Public Procurement Act
In the management response, the Ministry said it had “practical challenges in adhering to procurement thresholds for hotel services under the PPA.”
The Ministry also indicated that it has plans to train all divisional heads on how to follow the PPA in all procurement henceforth.
Ruling on the matter, Ranking Member on the Public Accounts Committee, Samuel Atta-Mills, referred the Finance Ministry to the Attorney General for punitive action, to forestall future occurrences.
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